Where is your impact strategy rooted?
As well as enabling organisations to define and articulate their strategy for creating social and spiritual impact, Eido’s Impact Strategy Model can also distinguish between different types of strategy.
One of the areas where impact strategies vary is the points at which they are fixed and the points at which they are fluid.
In this article we’ll outline four distinct impact strategy types that exist across the non-profit sector. Each of them has their own strengths in their likelihood to create impact, yet each has challenges that the organisation will face in having a long-term sustained impact.
The first impact strategy type can be called either a “problem-rooted” or “outcome-rooted” strategy.
This is a strategy that is fixed on a specific situation or problem within society that needs to be addressed (“the problem”) and be replaced with a better situation or experience (“the outcome”). For example replacing racial injustice with racial equality, poor mental health with good mental health, or financial poverty with economic stability.
To be successful in bringing about this change, the organisation ideally needs to be fluid in every other area of the Eido Impact Strategy Model (ISM): to respond to all the major causes of the status quo, work with every relevant group of people influencing and sustaining these causes, and deliver the right activity or engagement to each of them that will result in a set of interim outcomes that will combine to create a new reality.
The impact-related strength of this strategy is that when done well, it takes a systemic approach to understanding the problem, and creates a holistic solution for sustained and long-term change.
The likely challenge of this strategy when applied to major and complex problems is the breadth of causes, stakeholders and activities that may be required to bring about long-term change. If this challenge isn’t fully understood then the risk is that the organisation may either not develop a holistic strategy (yet expect holistic change), or develop a wide-ranging strategy but have insufficient resources to make any of the components individually impactful.
The second impact strategy type can be called a “cause-rooted” strategy.
This is a strategy that is fixed on a specific cause of a situation or problem within society. Here, ‘cause’ doesn’t mean a societal problem, but a specific factor that is thought to be creating a societal problem. For example if the societal problem is the low mental health of young people, one of the causes might be seen as the lack of mental health education in schools. Therefore a cause-rooted impact strategy may be fixed specifically on addressing this.
Although this strategy type might identify the societal outcome or changes as part of its vision, compared to the “problem-rooted” strategy, its strategic activity need only focus on those stakeholders related to the one specific cause, delivering activities to them, and delivering those activities in an effective way.
The impact-related strength of this strategy is that the single cause can be studied and understood in detail for an effective activity response to be created and implemented. The potential impact challenge is that if there are other causes sustaining the societal problem at large, even if the caused-related strategy is completely successful, the ultimate vision of societal change might not happen.
The third impact strategy type is a “people-rooted” strategy.
This strategy is rooted in a group of people within society who experience challenges, injustice or disadvantages in life. Many organisations fit this model: for example those who work with older people, ex-prisoners, or people with a specific disability.
This impact strategic type often ends up being the most open. It is within bounds to address any problems or situation faced by this group and/or any or all the causes of the problems. In addition new situations or causes may arise over time, consciously or unconsciously moving the organisations impact strategy with it. As such this strategy has no fixed set of stakeholders, outcomes, activities or success factors.
The strength of this strategy is that it can be adaptive and particularly ‘customer’-led, ensuring that the greatest need or requests of the focussed group is acted on. The strategy can address situations holistically, especially if some co-occur in people’s lives.
However the challenge of this strategy is that effectively ‘anything goes’ as long as there is some link to benefitting the “people” at the centre of it. Because there is no focus on an outcome, or a situation, or a cause, then it is all too easy to try to do everything at the same time, diluting either resources, quality of delivery, or both. As a result, the impact of the strategy is broad but often thin.
The final impact strategy type can be called an “activity-rooted” strategy.
This strategy is rooted in the delivery of a service or product that can create change. This impact strategy can fit research organisations, technology organisations, and grant-giving organisations.
This impact strategy type can be fluid in the problem it seeks to solve, the cause to unpick, the outcomes delivered, and the individuals to support and engage. Its only constant is an activity or service that has clear success factors to create change for those who use it.
The strength of this impact strategy type is that the organisation can become an expert in delivery, constantly gathering experience and know-how in how best to deliver the activity in ways that are effective. At best it can move between situations, delivering bespoke outcomes for bespoke people.
The weakness is that unless the activity is genuinely helpful to a wide range of situations, causes and people, the strategy may result in a lot of activity and not so much impact.
Eido Research exists to help faith-based organisations measure and improve their impact. We do this through impact strategy workshops, and impact evaluation services.
To learn more about Eido’s Impact Strategy please sign up to a free workshop, or schedule a call.
